UK home appliance brand Belling has launched 'Belling Cookery Club', an initiative to support primary schools and enable them to provide practical cookery classes for children.

With cooking and nutrition now forming part of the curriculum across the UK but only an estimated 25% of primary schools having a teaching kitchen or facilities, it is believed that the majority of Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils don't receive practical cookery experiences.

Now Belling, which has been at the heart of British cooking for more than a century, is hoping to change that and to help the next generation embrace a love of cooking by giving primary schools the chance to win cooking equipment to transform their existing facilities.

Every year, Belling will award two primary schools with up to £2,000 worth of cooking appliances, along with fun cooking accessories for the children to use.

The competition is open to all primary schools, with pupils asked to produce a picture of their favourite nutritionally balanced meal, along with a description of why they like it so much and why it's good for them. Pupils can work on the entry individually or as a class, and each school is asked to select one entry to be sent to Belling alongside a brief explanation from a member of teaching staff about the school's existing facilities and what winning the prize would enable them to do.

"We believe it's vitally important for schools to be able to host regular cookery lessons to teach children the cookery skills to equip them for later life," says Jane Rylands, head of marketing communications at Belling. "The theory of nutrition is very important, but it's also crucial for children to have the opportunity to physically interact with ingredients and produce their own food.

"We hope that the Belling Cookery Club will become a valuable resource for schools and enable them to host regular cookery lessons."

Schools interested in participating can enter via the Belling website where full details, along with terms and conditions are available.